


Home For The Holidays

by HedonistInk



Series: Kai's Zine Scenes [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aphelion: A VLD Writer Zine, Deception, Developing Relationship, Good Intentions, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Orphan Lance (Voltron), Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-07 08:23:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14667150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HedonistInk/pseuds/HedonistInk
Summary: Lance has been lying to everyone for years—since he started college—insisting he had a family to go home to when really there was no one waiting for him. Raised by his grandparents after his mother died, Lance attended his grandmother's funeral two weeks after his high school graduation. But who wants to be the sympathy case? Lying was just… easier. But his lie starts to unravel when his boyfriend of two years, Shiro, asks Lance to visit his family during the summer holiday.





	Home For The Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Aphelion Zine, this is one of my two pieces for that project! I had a blast working on this project!

Lance had never had the chance to have much of a relationship with his mother, really. He was only seven years old when she died. Two weeks before his eighth birthday. Birthdays had carried a sense of foreboding ever since. 

Lance hadn't cried for her then. He'd been too upset that the birthday vacation his mother had planned for him was canceled. He didn't yet understand. He was just too young. 

Lance would always remember that. 

His father was more of a "what father" situation. His mother never talked about him, except to say that he was a "very bad man.” Lance never questioned it. At first he was too young to do so. Then he had no one to ask. 

Things weren't so bad after that, though. Lance was raised by his grandparents. Which… sure they were old but no less loving. His grandmother seemed determined to pass down every single family recipe to him since she had no granddaughters. His grandfather, on the other hand, taught him the ins and outs of piloting, building model planes and tinkering with small RC models with him. They were good people. Genuine people. Hard-working people. 

A heart attack took his grandfather when he was in eleventh grade. 

This time, Lance did cry. He cried for days, taking a week off of school to curl up with his grandmother on the worn sofa, recounting memories between laughter and tears. There were so many memories, so many good times. 

Lance dove headfirst into school after that. 

He'd always been an average student, but Lance was all the more determined to make it into a good school after that, working on studying nearly round the clock. He wanted to make his grandmother proud—and his grandfather, wherever he was, if he could see him. Lance liked to think he could. Working himself to the bone, Lance managed to get himself a solid scholarship, almost half of his tuition paid for, at a good school. 

The only problem was it was on the other side of the country.

His grandmother reassured him time and again that it wouldn't be a problem, that she'd learn how to use "that video chat kids today are always talking about," and that Lance could come back to visit at every school holiday. Eventually, with enough gentle persuasion, Lance agreed. It  _ was _ a good school; it was everything he'd been working so hard for. And his grandmother had seemed so proud of him when he'd been accepted. So that was that. Lance was going to Altea University. 

It was two weeks after high school graduation when his grandmother passed away.

It was amazing, really, how everyone seemed to think telling him that it was 'peaceful' made it somehow better. Sure, it was good that she hadn't suffered, but she was still  _ gone _ , still  _ dead. _ Lance was still  _ alone _ , barely eighteen and with no family left in the world. It being 'peaceful' sure didn't make it any better for  _ Lance. _ He didn't know how to be an  _ adult _ by himself. What the heck were taxes and how did you file them? How were you supposed to get an apartment on your own? 

And the  _ looks _ . 

Their town wasn't exactly large, a small coastal town about an hour from a large city. And Lance had always been something of an outsider because he was 'weird'. He had friends, sure, but they were more the sort of friends that you had just because you both happened to be in the same place at the same time. From classmates and teachers alike he'd always gotten looks of soft pity whenever it came up. At 'parent-teacher nights' and school events, the only so-called 'parents' he had to offer were his grandparents. But that was fine because at least he had  _ someone _ . But now? Now the looks were unbearable. He couldn't stay. 

Having been left with a decent sum of a life insurance policy from both his grandmother and his grandfather, and with the scholarship covering more than half of his tuition by itself, Lance didn't hesitate to leave town in favour of Altea U. 

It was a fresh start. 

Altea University was everything Lance wanted and needed. No one knew him. He could be whoever he wanted to be. But the thought of those pitying looks loomed in the back of his mind. He didn't want that here. He didn't want to be the "orphan kid". So he'd lied. Anytime anyone asked about his family, Lance would say they were busy with work and taking care of his younger siblings. No one ever questioned that his parents were never there to help him move in or out when his hometown was nearly clear across the country. Of course he would just fly in and out. 

Lance wove entire stories about the antics they'd gotten up to when he was younger. The stories were ones he plucked partly from fiction and partly from stories his high school friends had told him about their siblings and their families. He was glad he'd always been good at telling stories and keeping them straight. Even if lying  _ was _ exhausting. But it was better than those  _ looks. _

Hunk was the first 'real friend' he made. 

Hunk was assigned to be his roommate for spring semester after Lance's roommate had just dropped out and Hunk's had been… 'reassigned' for reasons Hunk wouldn't tell him for months. Lance didn't want to pry. They got along almost immediately. As soon as Hunk had started putting up his things and Lance had seen the BoM band poster, he was sold. This guy? Was good people. 

Pidge came next. 

After a lab accident in chem class had left Pidge without a lab partner and without a  _ desk _ , they'd been reassigned to pair with Lance and Hunk. Pidge was weird, quirky, and definitely a nerd. They'd hit it off with Hunk right away and Hunk had made sure Lance stayed in the fold through the awkward growing pains of a new friendship. 

Lance couldn't have been more grateful. 

The most awkward part had been when Lance had—out of no small measure of jealousy over feeling like a third wheel—made a comment about not wanting to interrupt Pidge and Hunk's 'date'. Pidge had shut him down immediately with the fact that they liked girls and  _ only _ girls. Lance felt like a fool and a jerk. But the awkwardness had dissipated quickly enough from that event and soon they were back to their usual video games and movie marathons in Hunk and Lance's room. 

Keith was next to join their band of misfits. 

Pidge's study partner from their physics class, Keith was a whiz kid. He seemed like he was good at  _ everything. _ The guy was there on a  _ full _ scholarship, for crying out loud. And  _ he  _ didn't have any parents either. More than once, Lance had to stop himself from making a comment about their shared lack of relatives that would have exposed him and crumbled his secret.  _ Keith _ was the guy with no parents. Not him, not Lance. Lance had a big family and three sisters and a whole bunch of cousins. Right. Nobody ever pitied Keith for his lack of parents, nobody ever gave him  _ the look _ Lance knew so well from back home. But no, Lance was sure they'd pity  _ him _ if they knew. Especially after Lance had been lying so desperately and smoothly for nearly a whole year.

So Lance kept up the lie. 

Lance was surprised by how easy it was to keep up the lie. But he had always been good at keeping his story straight. Still, every so often, Keith would give him a curious sort of frown, brows quirking down as if something didn't quite add up in his head. Lance couldn't help but wonder if he knew, if he'd messed up somewhere. It seemed like Keith knew or, at the very least, suspected. But, thankfully, if he  _ did _ know, he didn't say anything. 

Shiro fell into their group next. 

Older than the rest of the group, Shiro had taken a year off from school after a bad accident in senior year of high school had left him with severe nerve damage in his right arm and scars littering his body. Another whiz kid, Lance wondered if there was anything Shiro  _ didn't _ know. He had been friends with Keith for years, apparently—since before high school. They acted like they knew each other's deepest secrets. Lance wasn't entirely sure at first that they weren't dating. But after the Pidge mishap, he knew better than to assume and wound up just outright  _ asking. _

Keith had laughed so hard he snorted. 

But at least Lance came out of it knowing he didn't have to feel guilty about his ever-growing crush on Shiro. It also gave him the freedom to be more bold and actually  _ do _ something about it. Which… for Lance meant a lot of awkward and embarrassing flirting. But Shiro's laugh was warm and easy and it made Lance's heart do somersaults in his chest.

By the end of spring semester they were dating.

Lance felt bad about lying to Shiro, telling him about his busy family and how many business trips they take and how they were always up to their elbows in kids when they were home. But he didn't have a choice. Shiro had heard for months about Lance's 'big family'. He couldn't just drop the truth on him. Shiro would judge him for lying and maybe even tell the others and then he'd get  _ that look _ again… He couldn't. 

Going 'home' for summer was the hardest part. Lance had a standing job as a summer lifeguard at the beach that he'd kept since he was old enough at sixteen. But it also meant more of  _ those looks.  _ Somehow the looks ached even worse after the year spent on campus without them. He decided it was the last summer he was going to spend in that town. It wasn't who he was anymore. 

By the end of summer, Lance had sold his grandparents house. 

Fall semester came around finally and Lance was glad to be 'home', back among his friends. And with his boyfriend. Things with Shiro were…  _ good. _ Shiro himself was good. He was warm and comfortable and Lance felt like he could trust him with anything. 

Well, almost anything. 

Lance continued telling his stories about his bustling family and how crazy his house was back home. It made it easy enough to play off that it was easier to stay on campus during holidays. He justified staying for winter semester with a local job and some elective art classes he'd been eyeing. Working on a double major, Shiro was around for the winter semester too. Lance didn't exactly mind the company. Or the snowball fights when campus was nearly deserted and covered in a layer of white. 

It had started as just "warming up" after getting soaked with melting snowballs. Lance and Shiro's dorms were three buildings apart and the snow had started again along with the wind. So they'd taken shelter in Lance's dorm, having the space to themselves with Hunk home for the holiday. Soon, a previously soaked Shiro had wound up in a pair of Lance's sleep pants—oversized on Lance but form-fitting on Shiro—and a shirt that had  _ no business _ being that tight on him. Lance had suggested a movie marathon in an attempt at distracting himself. One thing led to another and they had fallen into bed together. 

That was the evening when Shiro stayed over for the first time. 

Spring semester of sophomore year was hard. Lance felt like his ass was handed to him repeatedly by his classes. No matter how much studying he did, he always felt like he needed more. But his friends were always there, backing him up, taking over a corner of the library with sprawling piles of books for extended group study sessions or all piling into one of their dorm rooms when they'd inevitably get kicked out for being too noisy. The fact they were all on science-based tracks helped; their classes for the first two years were nearly all the same across them. 

Shiro had asked to meet Lance's family for the first time midway through spring semester. Lance had just about had a heart attack, frantic in how he spun a story that his parents were away and his grandparents were watching his siblings and their house didn't have internet or anything because they were 'traditional' old people. Somehow, it had worked, and Shiro dropped the topic. 

For a time. 

As the semester drew to a close and everyone was talking about their summer plans, Shiro asked if he could come visit Lance during his summer break. Lance didn't even have the  _ house _ anymore. He wasn't even  _ going _ 'home'. He was just staying in a cheap apartment near campus and hoping to pick up a local job to help offset his costs. But Shiro couldn't know that. 

With enough creative storytelling and backflipping, Lance had managed to spin things so that he would be going to visit Shiro's family for a week and a half over the summer instead. Lance wasn't entirely sure that was better. He'd never really been  _ around _ a "normal" family like that. He'd never even slept over at another kid's house when he was growing up. And this wasn't just  _ any _ family either. This was his  _ boyfriend's _ family. What if he did something weird? 

It turned out Lance didn't need to worry. 

Shiro's family was warm and welcoming, just like the man himself. His mother was kind-hearted and had the sort of smile that made her eyes crinkle up at the corners. His father was easygoing and relaxed with a voice that just made you feel at ease. His sister stopped by more than once for dinner, living close to their parents. They included him without hesitation, making him feel like a  _ part _ of their group. And yet he was still an outsider. Watching their dynamic, watching how  _ perfect _ of a family they were made Lance's heart ache. But not as much as when Shiro would bring up the topic of Lance's family to his parents and Lance had to smile and nod and tell his familiar lies, well-worn on his tongue. Lying to these people, these perfect people, felt wrong. 

Lying to Shiro felt wrong. 

Another winter semester meant another winter spent on campus. Lance unofficially set up camp in Shiro's dorm room that winter. Shiro's roommate, Matt, had gone off to some mini-internship program while Hunk had stayed on campus for a research project, reversing the 'availability' of whose room gave them more time alone together compared to the previous winter. 

That was the first time that Lance had said 'I love you'. Late at night, watching Shiro work on a paper by the light of his laptop, the words had just fallen out past Lance's lips. Shiro had stared at him with an expression not unlike a deer in the headlights for a long minute before closing and setting his laptop to the side. 

They hadn't left the dorm room at all the next day, too wrapped up in each other. 

Spring semester had seen their relationship getting more serious. They tossed around the idea of getting an apartment together for senior year rather than staying in the dorms. By spring break they were looking at apartments, hoping to find something they could move into by move-out day. 

It wasn't exactly the biggest apartment in the world. But it was in a decent part of town and walking distance to campus, in one of the complexes just off the south end of campus. And it was  _ theirs. _ Which made it absolutely  _ perfect. _ The papers were signed with a month to spare with Shiro's parents co-signing for them. 

Which was when the topic of Lance's parents had come up again. 

Sitting in  _ their _ apartment on piles of pillows and blankets and eating pizza by flashlight, Lance felt more content than he could remember feeling in a long time. Sure, they didn't have any furniture yet, not a couch, not a table, not even a  _ bed _ . And sure their electricity wasn't going to be turned on until Monday. But it was  _ their _ place. It was  _ their _ home. For a time, at least. 

Shiro had idly suggested that they should take a trip to see Lance's family. The logic wasn't exactly unreasonable: they were moving in together and Shiro had never even met the parents Lance talked about. Lance's protests that it would cost too much money were countered by Shiro asking at least that they all do a skype call together. 

Lance was fucked. 

Desperately and quickly tossing together a plan in his head that he only hoped had some small chance of working, Lance agreed they would go visit his family. As long as Shiro let Lance handle the transportation arrangements. 

Lance worked his ass off pulling the strings to make his plan come together. With any luck, Shiro would go along with it and Lance wouldn't have to deal with this issue again. He hoped. Maybe. Well at least he wouldn't have to deal with it for a while longer. Shiro would have to know eventually. Lance knew that. And waiting longer only made things worse and worse. They'd been dating for two years and half of what Shiro knew about Lance was a massive lie. 

Everything had brought them to this moment. 

What if Shiro couldn't forgive him? 

Lance was a nervous mess the entire flight there. The nearest airport to Lance's hometown was in the city. And he'd booked a car to pick them up from the airport, making sure the driver had their destination before Shiro even got into the car. That way he wouldn't hear it. Not yet. 

When they reached the highway, rather than turning south towards the small coastal town where Lance lived, the car kept going straight. Straight to where the far side of the city gave way to the shipping ports and the massive docks. The car stopped by the drop-off area for the glimmering white cruise ship docked there and the driver started to get out of the car and take their bags out of the trunk before Shiro turned to him, a look of utter confusion on his face. 

"…Lance…? I don't— I don't understand. I thought we were going to your parents' place? What… what's going on?" Shiro sounded bewildered and unsettled.  

Lance felt his heart stop with his hand on the door handle of the car. He swallowed, forcing out a laugh and trying to cover over his nerves. He felt raw, exposed. Do or die moment. He had to sell this. "H-heh… Well I mean… I'm not gonna force you to spend a week in a cramped, overcrowded little house… So I thought… Why not a cruise? Everybody loves cruises! And you said you'd never been on one so…" 

"Lance…" Shiro frowned, "This isn't what we talked about…" 

"I know!" Lance yelped before calming himself. "I know. But… I thought it'd be a nice surprise. So uh… Surprise?" 

The foghorn of the ship blew and Lance nearly jumped out of his skin, hurrying to open the door. "C-come on. We gotta go or we'll miss it. It's already paid for. Nonrefundable. Might as well be on board!" 

Grabbing his bag and closing the door behind him, Lance could only hope Shiro would follow him. He looked back only once he'd closed his fingers around the handle of his suitcase, praying he would see Shiro there behind him and following him. 

And he did. 

Letting out a relieved breath, Lance felt like he could almost collapse on the spot. But he kept his expression plastered in place and unchanging as he walked, quickly, aiming to get Shiro onto the boat as soon as possible. "S-so… It'll be great, okay. It's six days, five nights. You'll love it, okay. There's a stop-over on each of the little islands."

"I don't have my passport…" 

"I got it. I grabbed it before we left. You're all set. I just wanted to surprise you with something nice. So… Just… Let's just enjoy this, okay?"

It might be their last trip together if things didn't go according to plan. 

Shiro was quiet all through the process until they got to their cabin. It was a nice space, small but comfortable, with a large window and a queen-sized bed. 

" _ Whoah! _ Shiro, Shiro you gotta see this!" Lance babbled, all but leaping across the bed to the window, gawking and pointing at the view. 

Behind him, Lance heard the sound of Shiro sitting on the bed and silence. Turning to look, he saw Shiro sitting on the bed with his hands clasped, staring at them and fidgeting with the scars across his right palm as he was prone to do when he was nervous. That couldn't be good. Lance's budding excitement fizzled, replaced again by waves of anxiety. 

"Lance… I… I want the truth."

Shiro's words were simple but they cut Lance to the core, sending a cold chill through his veins. No. No, no, no. Not now.  _ Please _ . Let them at least have this last trip. Lance swallowed hard. 

"What… what are you talking about?" Lance brought a hand up to scratch nervously at the back of his head, his hand freezing mid-motion when Shiro finally looked up at him. 

"We've been dating for  _ two years _ and you still haven't even let me say  _ hi _ to your parents. And now we're going on a  _ cruise _ instead of meeting them? I'm not an idiot, Lance, no matter how much I look the other way on this stuff." Shiro sighed, his voice softer as he continued, "I… whatever it is… You can tell me. Okay? I love you. And… whatever it is, we'll work it out. But I need the truth." 

Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

Lance felt like he was going to be sick. His heart felt like it was going to rip out of his chest with how it was wringing itself against the inside of his ribcage. 

"I don't… I'm not— I mean… It's not… I'm…" Lance started and faltered time and again. He could feel the tears bubbling up in his eyes but he was powerless to hold them back as they started to spill over. 

"My parents… My parents are…" Lance struggled again. 'My parents are dead'. It wasn't hard. Why couldn't he just say it? 

"They're… I'm… I don't…" 

"Hey… Hey, it's okay… Talk to me, baby," Shiro urged, scooting closer and reaching out to tug one of Lance's hands away from where he'd curled it around his core. "Shh… talk to me…" 

Shiro's tenderness only made Lance sob harder. It was going to be the last time he felt that honest softness from Shiro, he was sure. "Th— They're  _ gone, _ Shiro…" 

Shiro froze, quiet for a moment as Lance sobbed. "Gone…? What, you mean, like…" 

Lance nodded, the motion small and unsure. "D-dead… Well I… my mom is. My dad I don't… I don't know… Never knew." 

"I… oh my god, Lance, I'm so sorry… I…  _ how long? _ " 

"Uh… th— thirteen years?" 

"But… wait… you were… You said they were… Who's taking care of your siblings?" 

"I don't… I don't have any," Lance admitted, hanging his head and letting his hand fall away from Shiro's. 

Once the words started, they didn't stop. 

"I'm… I'm sorry… It was a lie… It was all lies… I lied to you and I don't have anyone and I'm alone and my m-mom died when I was seven and I don-don't know who my dad is and my grandparents raised me but g-gramps died when I was in eleventh grade and g-gran died right… right after highschool and I'm alone and I just… I didn't want people to me and look at me like they did back home and then you guys happened and… And I'm so sorry, Shiro. I'm so sorry…" Lance couldn't bear to raise his head to see the look on Shiro's face. 

" _ Lance… _ " Shiro's voice sounded soft and broken. And it broke Lance's heart even more, the small shards feeling as though they caught in his chest before crumbling away. 

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Lance sobbed into his hands. 

A weight on his shoulders made him jump, but then he was being guided to walk, to sit down. Even now, Shiro was taking care of him. He didn't deserve it. 

After a long moment, once Lance had started to sob less intensely, Shiro spoke again. "So… all of it… your family… your siblings…" 

"I… I made it up…" Lance sniffled. "Or… well most of it was stories I heard from people I knew… Or things I did with friends…" 

"Lance…  _ why? _ "

Lance fell quiet, letting his hands fall away from his face slightly and resting his elbows at his knees. Looking down at his hands, he considered his words before responding. "Do you know… When people  _ know _ you're… an orphan… There's a certain  _ look _ they give you. It's… It's kinda like pity? But not totally? They feel  _ bad _ for you, before they even really  _ know _ you. And like… they wish there's something they could do because they're so  _ sure _ it must be  _ horrible _ but they can't  _ begin _ to know what it's like. So instead… Instead they just  _ pity _ you. And I… I don't  _ want _ anyone's pity, Shiro… I just… I  _ don't _ . I dealt with it all growing up because of my mom. The whole town knew. But at least I still had my grandparents. And then… And then I didn't even have them. And everyone had that  _ look _ in their eyes when they looked at me. And I  _ hated _ it. Poor Lance, he's so  _ alone. _ "

Lance bit at his lip, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand before continuing. "Then… then I went to Altea and… And no one  _ knew. _ No one gave me that  _ look _ and… And it was the first time in  _ forever _ that I'd just… That I was  _ normal. _ Just another generic kid with another generic family. And it… it felt really good. And… I felt bad lying but… But it was better than that  _ look. _ I would've done anything for it." 

"Lance… You could have told us… Keith doesn't—"

"I know. I know,  _ believe _ me. I  _ know. _ " Lance cut Shiro off. "But like… it was just… It was too late then? By the time I knew you guys weren't gonna judge me for it… I couldn't just come out and say I'd  _ lied _ about  _ everything _ . I just… I didn't wanna lose my friends…" 

Lance dared to look over at Shiro with watery eyes, finding his expression… a strange sort of worry that he couldn't quite decode. Lance pushed himself on anyway. "I didn't wanna lose  _ you. _ I was  _ scared _ , Shiro." 

Shiro stared at him for a long moment, long enough for Lance to start to get nervous again. He really felt like he was going to be sick. 

Then Lance was being wrapped up in warm arms and a tight embrace and he found himself sobbing again, a confused and distressed sort of mewl escaping out of his throat as he was squeezed. 

"I'm not saying I'm not mad," Shiro began over the sobbing, squeezing around Lance when the smaller man started to sob harder.

Of course Shiro was mad. Of course. His boyfriend had been lying to him for  _ years _ . There was no way he would forgi—

"But… I'm not going anywhere."

Wait.  _ What? _

Lance wriggled and squirmed in Shiro's grip until he could pull back enough to look the other man in the eyes. He needed a visual confirmation that he hadn't heard wrong, needed to see Shiro's face when he said it. "Wh… what?" 

Pulling back, Shiro cupped at Lance's cheeks with broad palms. A slight laugh from him had the broken shards of Lance's heart sparkling and twinkling in his chest as Shiro brushed a scarred thumb across the apple of Lance's cheek. "I  _ love _ you. You. The boy who snores when he somehow falls asleep sitting up at his desk and yet doesn't fall out of the chair. The boy who single-handedly managed to find us an apartment  _ minutes _ from campus and talk almost a hundred bucks a month off the price when they had other people willing to pay full price. …The boy who once had a contest with Hunk about who could fit more gummy bears in their mouth." 

Lance let out a watery laugh. "H-hey, that was—" 

" _ In the library. _ We all got banned for a  _ month. _ " 

"O-okay but… for the record that was  _ totally _ Hunk's idea." 

It wasn't. They both knew it. 

Shiro snorted, shaking his head and brushing at the tear trails on Lance's cheeks. "The point is, the one who I wanna wake up to  _ every day _ is  _ you. _ I love  _ you. _ Not because of who your family is or isn't or what you have or haven't done. It's because of  _ you. _ That wonderful, weird, fabulous, flirty, sweet  _ you. _ " 

Lance wanted to cry but he couldn't. It felt as though his tears had run out. There was nothing left. He felt empty. Drained of everything. 

"But…" Lance's heart clenched as Shiro continued. "You still  _ lied _ to me. About something  _ really _ important. For  _ two years. _ So I'm not saying I'm not mad. This is  _ big. _ Bigger than big. But… we can work through it, okay? But if there's anything else, you'd  _ better _ tell me now." 

Lance huffed. "What could be bigger than this?" 

"I…" Shiro paused before shrugging. "I dunno. You… secretly got hitched to a stripper while on vacation in Vegas?" 

Lance paused, blinking for a moment before snorting and shaking his head, burying his face into Shiro's shoulder with an absurd little smile. "No, no secret Vegas stripper marriages. I promise." 

The sound of the boat's foghorn startled them both before a slight lurch signaled the boat's launch. Shiro yelped in surprise, clinging around Lance's waist in surprise and sending them both sideways onto to the bed in a fit of giggles. 

"So… a cruise vacation, huh?" Shiro asked after they'd both settled down. "It's… not the worst thing in the world." 

"Should be fun." Lance paused then, curling against Shiro's chest for a long moment as he tried to figure out how to say the words hanging in his heart. "…Sorry I couldn't bring you home like I promised." 

"Well… what's that they always say? 'Home is where the heart is'? I guess that means mine is wherever you are." 

Lance blanched with a laugh, feeling his heart flutter and flip in his chest. Shiro always knew  _ just _ what to say to be both awful and heartwarming. "…Now  _ that _ was cheesy. I'm totally dunking you in the pool later for that one."

Shiro scoffed in offense, grinning as he tugged Lance closer against him before resting his chin atop the smaller man's head with a thoughtful hum. "I'd like to see you try." 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/hedonistink) or [tumblr!](http://hedonistink.tumblr.com/) As always, comments and kudos are treasured and appreciated!


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